Magazine bolt-gun.



N0. 643,984. Ea'en'sd Feb. 20, |9.

C. H. F. L. RGSS.-

'MAGAZINE BLT GUN.

(Application led Dec. Q9, 1697.

.7. Sheets-Sheet' l.

(Na Mode.)

Witne 5 5 a 5;

@MM5 @Magg im@ L RGSS:

(No Model.)

Witnesses; l

Patented Feb. 2G, i900.

C. H. A. F. L. RUSS.

MAGAZINE BLT GUN.

(Application led Dec. 29. 1897.

2 sheets-sheet 24 Inventor, harles H-FL. R o s s Ciiiiiitll i A. F. L.ROSS, Oi? BALNAGOVVAN CASTLE, ROSS COUNTY,

SCOTLAND.

VlIGAZI N E BO LT=G U N.

srncrsrcarron' forming part of Leners restent no. ceases, datesrebma'ryeo, ieoo. Application filed December 29,1897. Serial hln.664.384. (No model.)

To @ZZ whom it may concern.-

Beit known that .'1CHARLES li. A. F. L.

` Ross, haronet, asubject of the Queen of Great Britain, andaresiilentof Balnagowan Castle, county of ess, Scotland, have invented certain newand useful improvements in Fire arrnsxof which the following is aspecification.

invention is intended to be used particularly with magazine-guns and ingeneral form is a straight-pull breech-action.

The parts of the breech-action are, first, a receiver, in.the forwardend of which the gunnarrel is attached and along which the breechmechanism is-slidbaclrward and forward in opening and ciosing the'breech to throw out cartridge-shells .hd reload, and, second, thebreech. mechanism, which ismade np of a breech-bolt and extractor and asleeve for rotating and thereby locking and unlocking the breech-boltand sliding it and the extractor along the receiver. On the sleeve isalso cover-piste or dust-guard for closing the' receiver when the breechmechanism is pushed heine.

The invention consists inthe general coinbination of these parts.

in the accompanying two sheets ci' drawings, which ferm a part of thisspecification,

Figure-1 is a plan view ci that part of the gun containinfr 'thebrcechaction and showing the breech' closed, he receiver being insection along the line c ef Fig. 2 and the breech v inecnanisni'beingpartly broken away. Fig.

i is a perspective view oi the seine with the breech closed, the partsbeing partly broken away. Fig. 3 is a perspective view of the saine withthe breech open, the receiver and stock being in section on the line yg/ of Fig. lV and the other parts being partly broken away. Fig. et is asection on the line g/.y of g. l, showing; the pcsit-ioner" thepnrtswhen e is tired. 1nig. 5 a section across the un on the iine .e of Fig.l. Fig. 6 is a perspective view of the receiver, partly broken away.ifig. I is a perspective view of the breech bolt 'with the tiring pincontained therein. Fig. 8 is a perspective view ci the cover-plate ordust-guard. Fie. 9 is a perspective View of the sleeve and breech-bolt,and fig. l is a perspective view of the extractor'.

in its general forni the receiver' A is a hollow cylinder' and has athreaded portion l, into which the rear end ot' the gun-barrel isscrewed.' Along the top the receiver is out away behind the threaded endto forni an opening' through which there is access into its interior.There is a longitudinal opening 2 through the under side of the receiverjust back of the barrel, through which the cartridgespass from themagazine. At the rear end there is another opening 3, through-Whichtheharnnler passes. The receiver is provided with a suitable tail 4 forfastening it to' the gun-stock. There is a narrow slot 14 in one side,th rough which a spring-actuated ejector P projects to throw theexploded shell out of the receiver when the breech mechanism has beendrawn hack. The receiver is provided on its inner surfaces with suitableguides extending iroxn its rear end forward nearly to its front end toguide the breech mechanism as it is slid backward and forward. Theseguides consist of grooves 5 G, one on each side of the receiver, aguide-face 7 for the sleeve on one side., and a-guide-face for thesleeve and extractor on the other side, the 1astnamed guide-face'beingformed by an extension of the under side of the groove 6. Immediatelyback of the threaded end of the reL ceiver and adjoining the rear end ofthe barrel is a cylindrical chamber limited at its rear bylocking-shoulders 8 9, which lie in a plane accurately at right anglesto the axis of the gun. it is intended that the bolt-head of thebreech-bolt shall revolve Within this chamber and shall be locked by theshoulders.

The breechbolt consists of a bolt-head Il and a stein 10, which is ahollow cylinder through which the liring-pin passes. On the bolt-headare two lugs l1 l2, which extend outwardly on opposite sid'es. Theheight of these lugs is such that they will just clear in the chamber atthe forward end of the receiver, and their rear ends are accuratelyfaced, so as to bear evenly against the shoul-` ders at the rear of thechamber to lock the holt-head and prevent it from being driven back bythe explosion of the cartridge. The bolt-head is recessed in front, soas to provide a rim 13 to center the cartridge. There is a groove 1i inthe bolt-head at the proper place, as indicated, to permit the ejector PIOO by which it is rigidly attached to the sleeve,-

to strike the cartridge. Hack of the bolt-head and on the stem arespiral ribs 15, forining parts of screw-threads. Their purpose is torotate thebolt-head as the sleeve is pushed forward after the lugs onlthe bolt-head have cleared the locking-shoulders in the receiver.

The bolt-actuat yr consists of a cover-plate or dust-guard C anda sleeveD. The coverplate has on its under side a dovetail groove 16, formed bytwo in\ va`rdly-proje`cting ribs,

so as to leave a space between it and the breech-bolt within which theblade of the extractor lies. This cover-plate has a tongue 17,which-slides in the groove 6 of the receiver.

On the top of the sleeve is a dovetail rib 18, which engages thedovetail groove of the cover-plate. The rib 18 and a portion of one sideof the groove are cut away to receive the tailpiece 2.2 of theextractor. There isalso a tongue 19 on the side of the sleeve, which-slides in the groove 5 of the receiver and, in'

conjunction with the tongue 17 on the coverplate, guides thebolt-actuator. This tongue 19 is cut away except at its en'ds, and inthe notch thus formed a latch L, posit-ioned in the side of thereceiver, engages and limits the range of movement of the sleeve in bothdirections. In the forward end of the sleeve and on the inner wallthereof are cut spiral grooves 20, into which the spiral ribs 15 ou thestem of the bolt-head slide. ribs should be of such 'a length that whenthe bolt-head is su'fliciently rotated to unlock it the ribs shall stillengage withl the spiral grooves in the sleeve. It is not materialwhether the sleeve or the bolt is grooved. Either may carry the spiralribs and the other the spiral grooves. It is, however, preferable toplace the ribs upon the bolt-stem close to the bolt-head and the groovesin the forward part of the sleeve, .as shown, as thereby the point ofapplication of the power to rotate the bolt-head is brought into closeproximity to the locking-lugs thereon, avoiding the yielding that mightresult were the power trans-v mitted through a long stem. ly having the.forward end of the grooves extending to and opening on the front endofthe sleeve, as is shown, this arrangement of the parts is permitted withthe use of a bolt-stem of reduced diameter and an enlarged bolt-head,for were the grooves formed inthe forward end of the bolt-head stem thestem would necessarily be inserted-in vthe sleeve from the rear thereofor the grooves be continued throughout the length of the stem,necessarily weakening it. The extractor E censists`of a steelblade witha hooked end 2.1 to engage the rim on the end ofthe cartridge and aprojecting piece 22 to'engage with the stops 23 2%, formed 'by cuttingaway the dovetail joint betweenthe cover-plate and the sleeve. Thesestops are so placed as to admit of a longitudinal movement oftheextractor relatively to the sleeve which is equal to the longitudinalmovement of the sleeve relatively to the Aloreeeh-bolt The spiral whilethe latter is being rotated. It is important that the extractor shallnot change its position longitudinally with respect to the bolt-head normove on the head of the cartridgethat is to say, it should not rotatewith the bolt-head. It is, moreover, advantageous to have the extractorfree to be disengaged from the other parts of the breech mechanism whenthe latter is removed from .the receiver, so that the parts can bereadily separated and cleaned.

The tiring-pin F, which passes through the center of the breech -'bolt,is normally held rearwardly therein by the springf with the /rearshoulder of the tiring-pin against the nut f, closing the rear of thebolt-stem; but when the gun is fired it is driven forward and strikesvand explodes the cartridge which lies in the The rear .end of end ofthe gun-barrel G. the firing-pin is struck by the hammer H, which ispivoted in the stock K. A thumbpiece is shown on the hammer foroperating it byhand, and of course the hammer can be arranged to be setat half-cock, if desired. In order to prevent the hammer from strikingthe firing-pin, and thereby exploding the cartridge, unless thebolt-head is locked, there is the following arrangement: The hammer isengaged by the lower edge of the rim of the sleeve and is cocked by thelatter when it is drawn back, and the firing-pin projects backward but'aslight distance beyond` the end of the sleeve when the latter is pushed\roo explained, and therefore not traveling backj ward while thebolt-head is being rotated. Thus unless the breech-bolt is pushed homefar enough for the bolt-head to be at least partly engaged with itsretaining-shoulders the tiring-pin is covered completely by the rear endof the sleeve, and the "head of the hammer is so shaped that it cannotstrike the firing-pin unless Ythe firing-pin extends substantially tothe maxim um distance back from the end of the sleeve. Therefore if thetrigger should be pulled without the sleeve being first pushed homeeither the `cartridge would not be exploded or 'the breech-bolt would'be pushed home before the explosion could take place.

T o assemble the parts of the breech mechanism, thesleeveis slippedonto'the breech# bolt in such position that its spiral grooves fall overthe spiral ribs in the breech-bolt, and the bolt-head is then pushedforward s uffieiently to permitthe extractor to be slid under thecover-plate with its hooked end in positionv over the front edge of thebolt-head. These parts, it will be' seen, areiall held together withouta screw; but it may be desirlIO able to secure the cover-plate inposition by locking it to the sleeve by ascrew. To insert` -oel theiatch L in the side of the receiver sed down, and they breech mechanismhed fo i fd.

o ther sideface of the same lug bears inst the head ci the extractor,which lies een it and the guide-face on the lower of the groove 6, thelatter thus forming abutment for 'the extractor. So long as e bolt-headcannot be rotated it must travel y'ard or baci; witlinthe sleeve, owingto the gement of the spiral ribs and grooves; when the bolthead hastraveled far gh forward for the lugs to clear the lockncnlders in thereceiver the bolt-head n the extractor are stopped from forward in bythe end of the gun-barrel, and as Lcere is pushed farther forward theboltrotates and is locked in the receiver. hen the breech mechanism isfully withn, a cartridge is forced up from the magalubvdasuitable springinto no sition to 'en i'orwardinto ine barrel, tne rini ot e cartridgepassing between the hooked end the extractor and the bolt-head. Owing toc' ence of the ejector it will no-t rise fully lin ment with the barreluntil the bolta traveled forward slightly. The front the ring-stud N,which the bolt-head pushes the way on reaching the forward end tsmovement. After the explosion the ech mechanism is drawn back. During aimovement of the sleeve the boltheld from movement longitudinally. beenrotated far enough to free from the shoulders in the receiver urther "onis prevented bya lug thV extractor, it enters the guides of einer andfollows the sleeve backward. the breech mechanism has been drawn ly Athefull distance, the ejectorPstrikes rim of the cartridge and keels it outat the top or the receiver, and the latch L on the f machine-gun of thegeneral stylede- 'crlbeff in my other application,'Seriai No. April 30,1897, for an automatic ll be seen'that the functionof the boltis to pushthe cartridge forward into the id hold it there against the recoil of...osiom The function of the extractor ent with the guiding-grooves inthe recartridge is guided into the barrel is to draw the cartridge-shellback with the bolt-head and prevent the latter from rotating fartherthan is necessary to free it from the locking-shoulders. The function ofthe rest of the breech mechanism is to cover the slot in the receiver,so as to protect the interior from the weather, and also to effect therotation of the bolt-head and in the construction shown to draw thebolt-head backward cndforward..

lVhat 1 claim, and desire to secure byLetters Patent of the UnitedStates, is-

l. The combination, with a receiver, of a breech-bolt, means forrotating the breechbolt to unlock it from the receiver, and an eX-tractor contacting with the breech-bolt to prevent undue unlockingrotation of the breechbolt, substantially as described.

2. The combination with a receiver, of a breech-bolt provided with abolt-head havingI locking-lugs thereon, a slegaye encircling theAbreech-bolt, means for moving the sleeve longitudinally relative to thebreech-bolt, and means located vnear the front of the breechbolt andimmediately behind the bolt-head thereon for rotating the breech-boltrelative to the slee Je upon the longitudinal motion of thesleeve,.substantially as described.

In a breech mechanism for firearms, the combination with a receiver, ofa sleeve and having spiral ribs formed thereon behind and adgaceiit tothe forward end thereciF the sleeve having spiral grooves, the forwardends of which open upon the forward end of the sleeve, the ribs andgrooves cooperating to rotate the breech-bolt upon a longitudinal motionof the sleeve, substantially as described.

l. The combination with a receiver, of a sleeve, an extractor, abreechbolt, means for rotating the breech-bolt relatively to both thesleeve and extractor, the extractor acting as apositive stop to limitrotation of the breechbolt, and means for moving the sleeve longi-vtudinally relative to the breech-bolt and extractor, substantially asdescribed.

5. 4In a straight-pull breech mechanism for firearms, the combinationwith a receiver, a sleeve, an extractor, a breech-bolt, means to unlock.the breech-bolt from the receiver by rotating it relatively to thesleeve and to the extractor and against the extractor as a stop, and afixed abutment for the extractor adapted. to prevent the displacementthereof when struck by the breech-bolt, substantially as described.

6. ln a breech. mechanism for lirearms, the combination with a receiverhaving guides fora sleeve therein, a sleeve sliding in the receiver, abreech-bolt, means for imparting a rotary locking or unlocking motion tothe breech-bolt by the longitudinal motion of the sleeve, and anextractor, limiting the unlocking motion of the breech-bolt by havingits one edge in engagement therewith and its opposite edge in engagementwith guides 4upon the receiver, substantially as described.

'a breech-bolt located within the sleeve and I'Io 7. In abreeclimechani'sm for rearms, the combination with a centrally-recessedreceiver 'havin g a shoulder thereon and having a longitudinal slot inone side, of a rigidly-connected sleeve and cover plate, the sleevesliding within the central recess of the receiver and the' cover-platein the longitudinal slot thereof, and closing it when the breech-boltcloses the breech, a breech-bolt having locking-lugs upon its foi-Wardend, means for rotating the breech-bolt by the longitudinal motion ofthe sleeve and cover-plate, and an extractor limiting the unlockingrotation of the breechbolt, contained between the cover-plate and sleeveand having a limited longitudinal mo tion in relation thereto,theextractor bearing upon the shoulder formed upon the receiver toprevent its displacelnent by the rotating` breech-bolt, substantially asdescribed.

y8. In a. breech mechanism for firearms the combination with abreech-bolt, of a firingpin, a hammer and a movable safety-stoppreventing the contact of the hammer with the ring-pin While thebreech-bolt is unlocked and moved by the ham mer to lock the breechboltand to uncover the firing-piu for conireechfbolt, lsubstantially asdescribed.

`10. In a breech mechanism for iirearms,the nnblnation with a sleeve, ofan extractor,

longitudinally movable in respect thereto, a

breech-bolt longitudinally movable and revoluble in respect to thesleeve and revcluble in respect to the extractor, and coacting abuttingfaces on the extractor and sleeve whereby the sleeve imparts alongitudinal motion to the extractor,substantially as described.

11. In a breech mechanism for firearms, the combination, with a sleeve,an extractor longitudinally movable in respect thereto, a breech-boltlongitudinally movable and revoluble in respect to both the sleeve andeX- tractor and coacting abutting faces on the eX tractor and sleevewhereby the sleeve imparts a longitudinal motion to the extractor,substantially as described.

12. In a breech mechanism for firearms, the combination,with asleevehavinga slot thereh in,a longitudinally-sliding extractor having aprojecting piece contained in the slot and engaging the sleeve by whichit is moved, a breech-bolt, and means for rotating the bolt and movingit longitudinally by the longitudinal movement of the sleeve,substantially as described.

13. In a breech mechanism for firearms the combination, with alongitudinally-moving and rigidly-connected sleeve and cover therefor,of a breech-bolt, means for causing arotary motion of thebreech-bolt bythe longitudinal motion of the sleeve, and an extractor having its stemslidingly held between the sleeve and cover and a projection on thesleeve, to engage and move the extractor,- substantially as described.

Signed by lne iny New York city this lOth day of December 1897.

CHARLES H. A. F. L. ROSS. WVitnesses:

SAMUEL W. BALCH, I-IY. H. WHITMAN.

